“Law on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Substances through Sea

This study pertain to legal control of pollution from transboundary movement of hazardous substances through sea. It is an emerging area in international maritime law. There is growing environmental awareness that oceans are no longer an inexhaustible resource. This has resulted in a complex system of integrated ocean policies and international legal frame work in this regard. Considering the peculiar nature of hazardous substances, the development of law in this regard has been haphazard. The legal framework in this area is not comprehensive and lacks coherence. India is geo-strategically located in the central part of Indian Ocean through which many international sea routes lie. India is also fast emerging as a maritime hub. Indian legal framework in this respect also suffers from serious pitfalls. In this backdrop, this study makes a sincere attempt to identify and analyse the legal intricacies in this area, in order to evolve a better regime for control of pollution pursuant to transboundary movement of hazardous substances through sea

Effectiveness of coir geotextiles in soil moisture conservation

Among the diversified use of coir geotextiles, its use as a protective covering to improve crop productivity and to reduce weed problem assumes to be much significant. An experiment has been conducted at Kumbazha, in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India to evaluate the different types of coir geotextiles and polythene as soil mulch. The treatments include different mulching materials like natural needled felt, black needled felt, rubberized coir, black polythene and transparent polythene along with a control plot (no mulch). The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design with six replications. The test crops used were bhindi (var. Salkeerthi) and pineapple (var. Mauritius). The study reveals that with bhindi crop growth parameters like plant height, leaf number and lateral spread were increased by mulching with rubberized coir and transparent polythene. These two mulches caused early flowering and increased fruit yield. Coir materials as mulch recorded a yield increase ranging from 67 to 196%. Observations also reveal that weeds were not grown in plots mulched with black polythene, transparent polythene and rubberized coir. Rubberized coir as mulch enhanced the fruit yield in the case of pineapple, which is followed by natural needled felt and transparent polythene. Black polythene resisted weed growth up to 7MAP, whereas rubberized coir and transparent polythene suppressed weeds up to 8MAP. Though the weeds were grown in other treatments the weeds count was significantly lower than that of control plot. Mulching with transparent polythene enhanced the soil temperature whereas rubberized coir lowered soil temperature. More over all mulched treatments had a favourable influence in increasing soil moisture. Observing the biodegradability and eco-friendly nature of coir it could be inferred that rubberized coir can serve as good mulch for bhindi and pineapple with minimum weed problem

Law Relating to Admission in Minority Educational Institutions in India

This Study pertains to the law relating to admission in minority educational institutions in India. This is an area which needs certainty. Every year, admissions to various institutions are challenged. The future of umpteen number of students are at stake. Only when clarity with regard to the nature of the rights and conditions to be fulfilled to get the rights are made, conflicts can be prevented. Awareness in this area has to be developed. Considering the peculiar nature of rights provided under Article 30 to the minorities, there is an argument that Article 30 is absolute in nature and restrictions on this right can be only in the interests of the minorities. But there is also a counter argument that minority rights are not absolute and that all rights are absolute only to the extent of their logical extreme. Thus reasonable restrictions can be placed over Article 30. The Legal framework is not comprehensive and conflicting judicial responses add to the dilemma. Legal frame work has pitfalls which creates confusions. Though there are decisions by the highest court of the land regarding admission rights, various parts of the decisions are quoted in isolation by interested parties to assert their sides. Many States try to frame legislations regulating admissions inspired by the judicial pronouncements, which are later declared as violative of minority rights and held unconstitutional. This state of affairs has prompted me to select this area as the subject for study. Study is an analysis for a better regime of law relating to admissions in minority educational institutions in India balancing the interests of various stakeholders viz. minority and non minority educational institutions, both professional and elementary, students, parents and the State.